Tip Of The Day: Not Everything For Your Baby Has To Be Brand New

New babies are so adorable and fresh to the world, it's tempting to think that everything you get for them has to be brand new too. This particularly applies if it's your first baby, and you don't already have any baby equipment.

But in these cash conscious times, remember that there are other ways to get what you need. And it seems more and more of us are looking at alternatives to buying new.

A survey by the classified ads site Preloved has found that 89 claiming to buy exclusively second hand. This is 300 of those surveyed said that pushchairs/prams and cots have been their top purchases.

73 of those surveyed had also sold their own items before the birth of their child to make some extra money and also much needed room.

Some items like car seats might still be better bought new, but your baby is not going to care if its pram is this year's model or not.

So if you want to reduce, reuse, recycle, ask around for equipment to borrow from friends, or check out charity shops, car boot sales and Freecycle. Babies grow out of clothes so quickly that it's not unusual for their hand me downs to be virtually unworn.

And if you're not convinced by second-hand chic for your precious bundle, don't assume that you have to pay full price even for new goods. Wiz Wharton's book How to have a baby on eBay will turn you into a canny shopper, getting new stuff at great prices and selling on the things you've finished with. Wiz boasts that she managed to get a £200 cot for £11.50, a £400 designer buggy for £200 and a £175 one-off maternity dress for £15. Looks like shopping around has become the smart option.